The last in a series by staff writer Gerry Fraley reviewing the top 10 prospects in the Texas Rangers' organization. To qualify, a player must have his rookie status: fewer than 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the majors and fewer than 45 days on an active roster before Sept. 1.

The combination of pennant-race trades in 2015-16 and graduations to the majors has created an imbalance in the Rangers' player-development system. The majority of the talent is concentrated at the lower levels of the organization. Of the players on this list, eight have not played above the High-A level.

General manager Jon Daniels recognized that when he sent right-hander Yu Darvish to the Los Angeles Dodgers for three prospects. The organization was "not where we want to be and where we'll be very quickly" at the upper levels, Daniels said.

The re-stocking continues this season. A look at the top 10 prospects in the organization going into spring training:

LEODY TAVERAS

POSITION: Center fielder.

SIZE: 6-foot-1, 170 pounds.

OPENING DAY AGE: 19.

HOW ACQUIRED: Signed as an international free agent on July 2, 2015. Received a $2.1 million signing bonus.

WORTH KNOWING: Taveras is a nephew to Willy Taveras, who played seven seasons in the majors with four clubs. Like his uncle, Leody Taveras counts speed and defense as his top skills. The Rangers honed in on Taveras at an early age and signed him at age 16. He appeared in three major-league spring training games in 2016. That was noteworthy because Taveras had yet to appear in a game outside the Dominican Republic.

AMATEUR BACKGROUND: Former assistant general manager A.J. Preller, now San Diego's general manager, was obsessive in his pursuit of Taveras. Preller identified Taveras as a top prospect early in his teens, and the Rangers stayed with him until he could sign at age 16. Taveras was among the top players in the Dominican Prospect League.

NOTABLE: Taveras has the skills to grow into a true five-tool player. His arm, speed and defense are rated as plus skills. Taveras, a switch-hitter, is an above-average hitter for average and an average power hitter. He showed an increase in power last season, hitting eight homers with a .360 slugging percentage in the Low-A South Atlantic League at age 18. Taveras goes into spring training with the highest upside of any player in the farm system.

NEXT STOP: Taveras will step up to the High-A Carolina League. As he was in 2017, Taveras will be among the youngest players in the league.

PROJECTION: When the Rangers move into their new ballpark in 2020, as scheduled, Taveras could be the starting center fielder. Or he could be stuck at Double-A. Taveras needs several more years of developmental time in the minors, and obstacles could arise along the way. The next big step on the horizon is when Taveras moves up to Double-A , where he will face pitchers rather than throwers for the first time.